David L. Berkowitz (born November 23, 1949) is an American professional

contract bridge Contract bridge, or simply bridge, is a trick-taking game, trick-taking card game using a standard 52-card deck. In its basic format, it is played by four players in two Team game, competing partnerships, with partners sitting opposite each othe ...

player. He is from

Old Tappan, New Jersey Old Tappan ( ) is a borough in northern Bergen County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey. As of the 2020 United States census, the borough's population was 5,888, an increase of 138 (+2.4%) from the 2010 census count of 5,750, which in turn refl ...

. In 1998, he came as close as it is possible to come to a world championship without winning it. In the

World Open Pairs The World Open Pairs Championship is a contract bridge competition initiated in 1962 and held as part of the World Bridge Series Championships every four years. Open to all pairs without any quota restrictions on nationality, the championship is w ...

, he and

Larry Cohen Lawrence George Cohen (July 15, 1936 – March 23, 2019) was an American filmmaker. He originally emerged as the writer of blaxploitation films such as ''Black Caesar (film), Black Caesar'' and ''Hell Up in Harlem'' (both 1973), before becomin ...

led throughout the five-session final, only to be overtaken on the last two boards. He also earned a bronze medal at the 2000

World Team Olympiad The World Team Olympiad was a contract bridge meet organized by the World Bridge Federation every four years from 1960 to 2004. Its main events were world championships for national Glossary of contract bridge terms#teams, teams, always including o ...

Maastricht Maastricht ( , , ; ; ; ) is a city and a Municipalities of the Netherlands, municipality in the southeastern Netherlands. It is the capital city, capital and largest city of the province of Limburg (Netherlands), Limburg. Maastricht is loca ...

, Netherlands. He was inducted into the

ACBL Hall of Fame This list is a compilation of contract bridge players, writers, administrators and personalities who have been recognized for their skills, achievements or contributions to the game as identified by various specific sources. People recognized by ...

in 2010. Berkowitz, whose wife Lisa is a former women's world champion, often comments, "I am not even the best player in my own house." They reside in

Boca Raton, Florida Boca Raton ( ; ) is a city in Palm Beach County, Florida, United States. The population was 97,422 in the 2020 United States census, 2020 census and it ranked as the 23rd-largest city in Florida in 2022. Many people with a Boca Raton Address, ...

. Their daughter Dana and son Michael play bridge as well.

Bridge accomplishments

Honors

* ACBL Hall of Fame, 2010"Induction by Year"
. ''Hall of Fame''. ACBL. Retrieved 2014-12-16.

Awards

Mott-Smith Trophy The Mott-Smith Trophy, named for writer and cryptographer Geoffrey Mott-Smith, is awarded to the player with the best overall individual performance in the Spring Nationals, the spring event of the American Contract Bridge League (ACBL) North Amer ...

(Spring NABC) 1982 *

Fishbein Trophy The Fishbein Trophy is awarded to the player who wins the greatest number of masterpoints at the summer American Contract Bridge League (ACBL) North American Bridge Championships, North American Bridge Championship (NABC). History The Fishbein Tr ...

(Summer NABC) 2011, 2018 *

Herman Trophy The Goren Trophy (formerly the Herman Trophy) is awarded to the player who wins the greatest number of masterpoints at the fall American Contract Bridge League (ACBL) North American Bridge Championship (NABC). History The Herman Trophy was do ...

(Fall NABC) 1991 * Digital Fountain Award (Best Played Hand of the Year) 2001 * Romex Award (Best Bid Hand of the Year) 1995, 2000 * Precision Award (Best Defended Hand of the Year) 1996

Wins

North American Bridge Championships North American Bridge Championships (NABC) are three annual contract bridge, bridge tournaments sponsored by the American Contract Bridge League (ACBL). The "Spring", "Summer", and "Fall" NABCs are usually scheduled in March, July, and November fo ...

(33) **

von Zedtwitz Life Master Pairs The Von Zedtwitz Life Master Pairs national bridge championship is held at the summer American Contract Bridge League (ACBL) North American Bridge Championship (NABC). Usually called simply the "Life Master Pairs" or "LM Pairs", this is a six-ses ...

(2) 1987, 1996 **

Rockwell Mixed Pairs The Rockwell Mixed Pairs is a national bridge championship held regularly at the Spring American Contract Bridge League The American Contract Bridge League (ACBL) is a governing body for contract bridge in the United States, Canada, Mexico, and ...

(2) 1986, 1987 **

Silodor Open Pairs The Silodor Open Pairs national bridge championship is held at the spring American Contract Bridge League (ACBL) North American Bridge Championship (NABC). The Silodor Open Pairs is a four session matchpoint (MP) pairs event with two qualifying ...

(3) 2004, 2006, 2009 **

Wernher Open Pairs The Wernher Open Pairs national bridge championship is held at the summer American Contract Bridge League (ACBL) North American Bridge Championships, North American Bridge Championship (NABC). Typically starting on the Tuesday of the NABC, the Wer ...

(2) 1982, 1996 **

Blue Ribbon Pairs The Edgar Kaplan Blue Ribbon Pairs (or simply the Blue Ribbon Pairs) is a national bridge championship held at the fall American Contract Bridge League (ACBL) North American Bridge Championship (NABC). The event is restricted to those that have wo ...

(2) 1978, 1995 **

North American Pairs The North American Pairs (NAP) is a set of annual North American championships for contested over two days at the spring American Contract Bridge League (ACBL) North American Bridge Championships (NABC). The events are restricted to pairs that hav ...

(1) 1995 **

Grand National Teams The Grand National Teams (GNT) North American bridge championship is held at the summer American Contract Bridge League (ACBL) North American Bridge Championship (NABC). The Grand National Teams is a team knockout event. The event is broken into ...

(9) 1994, 2007, 2008, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2015, 2018, 2023 **

Roth Open Swiss Teams The Roth Open Swiss Teams is a North American bridge championship Swiss Teams event held at the summer American Contract Bridge League The American Contract Bridge League (ACBL) is a governing body for contract bridge in the United States, Canad ...

(1) 2011 ** Vanderbilt (1) 2005 **

Keohane North American Swiss Teams The Keohane North American Swiss Teams bridge championship is held at the fall American Contract Bridge League (ACBL) North American Bridge Championships, North American Bridge Championship (NABC). The Keohane North American Swiss Teams is a six s ...

(1) 1999 **

Mitchell Board-a-Match Teams The Mitchell Board-a-Match Teams national bridge championship is held at the fall American Contract Bridge League (ACBL) North American Bridge Championship (NABC). It is an open four session board-a-match event with two qualifying sessions and two ...

(3) 1982, 1991, 2007 **

Chicago Mixed Board-a-Match The Mixed Board-a-Match Teams is a bridge competition held at the summer American Contract Bridge League (ACBL) North American Bridge Championship (NABC). From 2010 the event is officially the Freeman Mixed Board-a-Match Teams, as it is contested ...

(4) 1986, 1993, 1995, 1998 **

Reisinger The Reisinger national bridge championship is held at the fall American Contract Bridge League (ACBL) North American Bridge Championship (NABC). The Reisinger is a board-a-match event. History The event is contested for the Reisinger Trophy ( ...

(1) 1991 **

Nail Life Master Open Pairs The Nail Life Master Open Pairs is a North American bridge championship held at the fall American Contract Bridge League The American Contract Bridge League (ACBL) is a governing body for contract bridge in the United States, Canada, Mexico, and ...

(1) 2024 * United States Bridge Championships (1) ** Open Team Trials (1) 2000 * Other notable wins: **

Buffett Cup The Buffett Cup is a bridge trophy which is awarded biennially in an event between teams from Europe and the United States. The tournament is modeled on the Ryder Cup golf competition and is held in the week preceding the golf event at a nearby lo ...

(1) 2006 ** Cavendish Invitational Teams (3) 1983, 1985, 1994 ** Pan American Open Teams (1) 1992 ** Reisinger Knockout Teams (2) 1990, 2001 ** Cap Gemini World Top Invitational Pairs (1) 1999 ** Cavendish Invitational Individual (1) 1981

Runners-up

(1) 1998 *

(27) ** Vanderbilt (8) 1979, 1984, 1988, 1990, 1993, 1998, 2004, 2025 **

Spingold The Spingold national bridge championship is held at the summer American Contract Bridge League (ACBL) North American Bridge Championship (NABC). The Spingold is a knock-out team event that attracts the top contract bridge players in the world. T ...

(4) 1976, 2009, 2010, 2018 **

(4) 1987, 2002, 2004, 2007 ** Open Board-a-Match Teams (1) 2008 ** Men's Board-a-Match Teams (1) 1989 ** North American Swiss Teams (2) 2006, 2022 ** Mixed Board-a-Match Teams (1) 2011 **

(2) 1976, 1996 ** Life Master Open Pairs (1) 1991 **

Open Pairs Open or OPEN may refer to: Music * Open (band), Australian pop/rock band * The Open (band), English indie rock band * ''Open'' (Blues Image album), 1969 * ''Open'' (Gerd Dudek, Buschi Niebergall, and Edward Vesala album), 1979 * ''Open'' (Got ...

(2) 1983, 1985 ** Open Pairs I (1) 2002 * United States Bridge Championships (5) ** Open Team Trials (5) 1987, 1989, 1998, 2002, 2008 * Other notable 2nd places: **

(1) 2008 ** Cavendish Invitational Teams (1) 2000 ** Reisinger Knockout Teams (2) 1973, 1981 ** Cavendish Invitational Pairs (1) 1983 ** Cavendish Invitational Individual (1) 1980

References

External links

* – with video interview *
David Berkowitz profile
at

United States Bridge Federation The United States Bridge Federation (USBF) is the national federation for contract bridge in the United States and a non-profit organization formed by the American Contract Bridge League (ACBL) and the American Bridge Association (ABA) in 2001 to ...

BERKOWITZ David
athlete information at the 1st

SportAccord World Mind Games The International Mind Sports Association (IMSA) inaugurated the SportAccord World Mind Games December 2011 in Beijing. For all sports, the meet was invitational and the events were not world championships. Beside satisfaction of the participating ...

(2011) * ACBL Hall of Fame induction audio-video recordings at YouTube
presentation by Larry Cohen
(8:40) an
acceptance by Berkowitz
(6:00), both uploaded July 24, 2010, by Cohen {{DEFAULTSORT:Berkowitz, David 1949 births American contract bridge players Living people People from Old Tappan, New Jersey Place of birth missing (living people)